24k Vermeil

Vermeil (pronounced ver-may) is 24k gold on top of a sterling silver base. Its a gold plating technique, but where gold plated jewelry can use various base metals and has no minimum depth, vermeil jewelry always uses hypo-allergenic sterling silver as a base metal, and is at least 2.5 microns thick.

Sometimes called silver-gilt, the techniques that eventually evolved into vermeil jewelry-smithing date to at-least the 4th century BCE. Ancient romans overlayed hammered gold leaf, Incan's used depletion gilding, chinese "ormolu" used gilt-bronze and korean's "keum-boo" was a method for silver-gilding. In the 18th century French Artisans evolved these metal working techniques to eliminate the use of mercury and gold vermeil was born.

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At the Museum of Jewelry, we keep the hand-crafted arts alive. Every Museum creation is an original work of art. Each piece of jewelry is handcrafted by master artisans from historical designs - shaped, detailed and embellished using the same age-old techniques as have goldsmiths and lapidaries through the ages. No two stones or settings are ever alike, every piece has slight variations and formations. Sincerely,Shashi Singapuri Director.